About
I am a senior engineer, inventor, and investor with over 40 years of professional experience across systems engineering, software development, cybersecurity, cloud architecture, and executive management.
My path started early — at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center while still in high school (1976), then as an engineering co-op (1978–1983) at RCA / NASA Goddard while earning my BS in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the University of Maryland (1983). From there into defense electronics at RCA, building radar and electronic-warfare platforms at Patrick Air Force Base and Fort Bliss. In 1992, I founded Nieto Engineering™ Inc. and spent the next 17 years leading programs for NSA, DARPA, NOAA, DoD, the Department of State, and other federal agencies — directing organizations of up to 50 personnel on projects ranging from $100K to $25M.
I have held senior engineering and leadership positions at Booz Allen Hamilton, MasterPeace Solutions, PAX Engineering, and Amazon Web Services. In the mid-1990s, I was featured on CNN, C-SPAN, and Chicago Channel 11 for my work in technology and security, and received the High Technology of the Year Award and Outstanding Service of the Year Award.
Today, Nieto Engineering™ Inc. — now 34 years strong (est. 1992) — is scaling fast into a 60+ product AI company across business, automotive, and enterprise markets. Alongside it I run FNNP Investments LLC (est. 2015) — buying, flipping, and renting real estate since inception, now paired with AI-powered real estate technology — plus Felix Nieto Realty™ and a private-money brokerage. Between NEI and FNNP we hold 80+ patents pending, 61 trademarks, 142 total IP filings, and 60+ live AI-powered products — and the pace is accelerating.
Companies
Nieto Engineering™ Inc.
Latest: 60 AI-powered products across business, automotive, and enterprise — including the Crezva CRM suite and ADHunter Pro™. 80 patents pending. Government & commercial engineering since 1992.
FNNP Investments LLC
Latest: Real estate investment since 2015 — buying, flipping, and renting property, with completed deals — plus private-money brokering and the AI-powered REHunter/Crezva platform for real estate professionals.
Felix Nieto Realty™
Latest: Residential, investment, and international real estate — serving clients with the same AI tools we build. Real estate investor & licensed Realtor.
Career Highlights
Nieto Engineering™ — Full Focus & Rapid Growth
Full-time on my own ventures: building AI-powered products across business, automotive, and real estate; private money brokering; and active real estate investing and brokerage.
Senior Software Engineer
Infrastructure Lead — AWS containerized environments, Terraform IaC, CI/CD pipelines. AI-assisted development integration.
Senior Delivery Consultant / Lead Consultant / Technical Lead
Led cloud migrations, designed DoD SCCA architecture in AWS GovCloud, recovered degraded production systems within 72 hours.
Principal Engineer / Chief Systems Architect
Chief Architect for mission-critical cross-domain solutions. Led teams of 5-20. Achieved 400% improvement in CI/CD build efficiency. Full lifecycle from concept through ATO accreditation.
Managing Director / Principal Engineer
Chief Engineer for cyber and network analysis programs. Deep packet inspection, protocol anomaly detection, CND/CNE operations. Led teams of 4-15.
Senior Systems Engineer / SME / Technical Lead
Technical Lead across telecommunications and embedded systems programs. Reverse engineering, secure communications, geo-location systems. Teams up to 15.
Executive Management / Program Manager / Principal Engineer
Founded and led NEI for 17 years. Programs for NSA, DARPA, NOAA, DoD, Department of State, GSA/FPS, U.S. Courts, O'Hare International Airport. Directed up to 50 personnel. Projects from $100K to $25M. C-SPAN panelist on IT Security (1996).
System Design & Integration Manager
Managed 20+ personnel. Embedded systems for NSA/DoD. GTE Secure Red Switch Program. Cryptographic interfaces and secure communications.
Senior Systems Engineer — RCA · Founder, NEI (Computer Retail)
Defense electronics at RCA — electronic warfare, radar, UHF/VHF jamming, and physical security systems; embedded systems in C and assembly. Alongside it, launched my first venture under the NEI name — a computer retail company in Melbourne, FL — the earliest root of what became Nieto Engineering™ Inc. in 1992.
Engineering Co-op → Associate Engineer
Co-op engineering through college and on into a full associate-engineer role at RCA: Z80 microcomputer systems, data acquisition, orbit simulation, speech synthesis. Assembly, PASCAL, PL/M. The start of one continuous run at RCA (1978–1989) — same company, advancing through different projects and locations.
Where It Began — NASA Goddard (High School)
Got my start in engineering as a high-school student at NASA Goddard — data acquisition and early speech synthesis work. The spark that led to a 40-year engineering career.
Core Expertise
Leadership and Training
Leadership is not just a title — it is a practice. I have invested consistently in developing leadership capability, both in myself and in the teams I lead.
- John Maxwell Leadership Training (2012) — Certified in Maxwell's leadership methodology
- Leadership / Team Building / Motivational Training — Continuous development across 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
- 22 years of executive management — Directing organizations up to 50 personnel across DoD, Intelligence Community, and commercial sectors
- 28 years of technical management — Leading cross-functional engineering teams from concept through deployment
- Mentorship — Consistently developing high-performing engineering teams, building technical capability across software, systems, and cyber disciplines
- Advanced Computer Defense Course (ACDC) — Delivered formal training and technical instruction at the division level
Awards and Media
- Featured on CNN, C-SPAN, and Chicago Ch 11 — National television appearances on technology and security topics (1995-1996)
- High Technology of the Year Award (1995)
- Outstanding Service of the Year Award (1994)
- WTAI Talk Radio 1560 AM — "Straight Talk On Computers" radio show host and speaker (1988)
- South Brevard Chamber of Commerce — Federal Affairs Chairman (1987)
- Featured in various security publications — Industry articles on physical and information security
Youth Leadership and Community Service
Developing the next generation of leaders is a core part of who I am. I have spent over 15 years investing in youth development through competitive drill teams, wilderness training, and leadership instruction.
- Pathfinder Youth Organization Director (2006-2019) — 1st Place Eagle Award recipient
- Drill Master and Honor Guard Instructor — Built competitive youth drill teams from the ground up
- 1st Place Basic Drill Team — National Competition, Oshkosh 2019
- 1st Place Basic Drill Team — National Competition, Gillette, WY 2023
- 1st Place Advanced Drill Team — National Competition, Oshkosh 2019
- 1st Place Advanced Drill Team — National Competition, Gillette, WY 2023
- 1st Place Honor Guard Team (2017-2019)
- Professional Leadership Trainer — Global Youth Organization
- Professional Leadership Instructor Trainer — Global Youth Organization
- Latin American Management Association — Board of Directors (2003-2008)
Community Service and Safety
- Nieto Ministries™ — Co-Founder (with Neusa Nieto). A nationwide hub for coffee-house-style youth & young-adult ministry (Join The Grind™). Key areas: discipleship, leadership academy & leader training, high-school/college career counseling, drill team, adventure weekends, and community service projects — all denominations welcome. nietoministries.com
- American Red Cross — Certified Instructor Trainer / Trainer / Instructor (2017-present)
- Red Cross First Responder Trainer/Instructor — First Aid / AED / CPR
- Certified Wilderness Survival Instructor
- Professional Presenter — Various government organizations and conferences
- Howard County Police Department — Basic Criminal Investigations Course (2003)
- Certified Fire/Life Safety Professional (2004)
Intellectual Property
Combined portfolio across Nieto Engineering™ Inc. and FNNP Investments LLC (live counts):
Products
60 AI-powered SaaS products across real estate, automotive, and business markets. A selection:
Education
- Bachelor of Science — Electrical Engineering, Computer Science
University of Maryland, College of Engineering, 1983 - Security Systems Design — University of Maryland, 1983
- Electronic Warfare Systems, Radar Systems Design — George Washington University, 1985
- Strategic Management and Forecasting — University of Maryland, 1991
Certifications and Licenses
- Certified Private Money Broker (2026)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect — Associate (2024)
- FAA Commercial Drone Pilot License (2023) — FAA Compliant Drones
- FAA Recreational Drone Pilot License (2023)
- Maryland Home Improvement Contractor License (2023)
- Red Cross Certified Instructor Trainer/Trainer/Instructor (2017)
- Licensed Maryland Real Estate Agent (2016)
- John Maxwell Leadership Certification (2012)
- Advanced Network Vulnerabilities and Penetration Testing (2012)
- Advanced Exploitation Techniques (2012)
- Penetration Testing — Websites, Databases, Wired and Wireless Networks (2012)
- Advanced Reverse Engineering Methodologies (2011)
- GSM 1G/2G/2.5G/3G/3.5G/LTE Telecommunications (2009, 2011)
- SS7 and Telecommunication Protocols (2010, 2011)
- Reverse Engineering Methodologies (2009)
- Licensed Security Professional, State of Maryland (2005)
- Certified Fire/Life Safety Professional (2004)
- NSA Certified Risk Assessment Methodology (2003)
- Basic Criminal Investigations — Howard County PD (2003)
- Certified FSO/CSSO — Defense Security Service/NSA (1997/2000)
- Construction Management Certificate — Turner Construction (1994)
- Certified Wilderness Survival Instructor
Also a Licensed Realtor
Licensed Maryland real estate agent since 2016. I practice what I build — using the same AI tools I develop to serve my own real estate clients.
Hobbies and Passions
I have been a motor head since my teens — tearing down engines in the garage, rebuilding them stronger, tuning carburetors by ear, painting cars in the driveway, building my own paint booth, and racing on weekends. I studied automotive technology in college alongside my engineering degree — engine rebuilding, performance tuning, restoration, and custom paint. I did it all old school, with hand tools and determination. That passion has never faded. From classic American muscle to BMW M cars, from jet skis to motorcycles, I eat and breathe mechanical things. The grease under my fingernails is what makes the engineering real.
Classic Muscle Cars I Have Owned
Old School Skills — Hands On
What Drives Me
Track days, performance builds, the thrill of speed
5 BMW bikes — touring, adventure, sport
On the water whenever possible
Certified wilderness survival instructor
Staying fit — love the heat and the outdoors
FAA-licensed pilot, builder and modder
Sharing my passions with young people is what matters most
Technology and Drones
The same hands that rebuilt engines now build and modify drones. I love technology you can take apart, improve and put back together better, and drones are where engineering, flight and creativity meet. I design and modify my own drones, test what works in the field, and fly as an FAA-licensed commercial (Part 107) and recreational pilot.
I share that passion through teaching: the Pathfinder Drone Honor, free FAA safety-test guidance, hands-on flight training, and a mentored path for young people who want to become commercial pilots.
BMW Enthusiast — 10 BMWs and Counting
I don't just build automotive technology — I live it.
Get in Touch
Three ways to reach me:
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